Bloomingdale Trail bridge moved from Ashland to new location on Western

Crews moved the old Ashland bridge to its new location on Western Avenue on Saturday morning, causing street closures on Western between St. Paul and Moffat until installation is complete.

The entire structure was transported south on Ashland to North Avenue, west on North Avenue to Western, and then north on Western to Bloomingdale Avenue.

The bridge across Western Avenue will be part of the Bloomingdale Trail, the centerpiece of The 606, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's park and trail system, which will expand over the next five years.

Emanuel was present as the bridge was installed.

"The kind of adaptive reuse seen in the Ashland/Western bridge replacement is one the hallmarks of the project, which is focused on being both environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient," Emanuel said in a statement.

All Western Avenue traffic, including CTA #49 buses, was detoured to California Avenue via North and Armitage Avenues during the shutdown, according to a release from the City of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Transportation. Pedestrians using sidewalks were urged to remain alert during the move.

CDOT crews began working around 5 a.m. Saturday. Rolling closures along the path of the move were overseen by Chicago police and CDOT workers as the bridge was transported.

The release stated there will be no parking on Ashland, North and Western Avenues beginning at 4 a.m. Saturday through 10 p.m. at the latest in these areas:

Ashland Avenue between Cortland and North North Avenue between Ashland and Western Western between North and Moffat